theblackboxertext

Here is the Chapter titled “THE BLACK BOXER” in its entirety as written by Friederun straight from the book in my possession titled:

MY LIFE WITH BOXERS
BY FRIEDERUN STOCKMANN
TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN BY ERIC FITCH DAGLISH 1968

“The story of the black boxer goes back as far as the first boxer stud book, which was started in the year 1904. It included the entry of the dog Graf Blitz von Graudenz 178, born 8th August 1899, whose parents were michels Max and Lore von Eisleben. This dog was shown and won prizes, Naturally he became the occasion of quarrels.
I got to know the black boxers through their founder, Mr. Schachtner. This man bred these black boxers, but formented resistance against them by unacceptable behavior. That they became extinct was also his doing. I had only just started in the dog game and had just bought Rolf von Vogelsberg, when one day Mr. Schachtner asked me whether I would like to mate Rolf to his Biola and Asta, who were the black daughter of Graf Blitz von Graudenz. It was something new and therefore I agreed with enthusiasm.
When I met my friend Mr. Schmoger again I mentioned the black ones to him and he told me to leave well alone. To his mind there were no really black ones: when seen by sunlight they were all dark brindles or brown. To offset this I told him that Biola and Asta had intensive black colouring, especially Asta. Hr. Schmoger insisted that in those circumstances those two could not be boxers. I could not agree with this, although I had to admit that neither of the black bitches were top class, but to further the quality of this black colouring intrigued me and I said so explicitly. My friend got very angry with me then, and told me in the end that Lore von Eisleben, the grandmother of the two black bitches, was a Bulldog bitch. At a show she accidentally got mated by a Schnauzer, The breeder never disputer this. Mr. Schmoger, however was sure that the black colour was wrong and therefore it was not accepted by the Munich Club.
The gauntlet had been thrown down. I should have gone ahead even though it meant going against my best friend, as I wanted to show that I was able to do what others could not. In doing so I overlooked many things with which I was unable to cope.
After some time I bought a bitch from Mr. Schachtner out of a black litter. The price was high but the quality of the bitch so poor that I could not use her in my kennels. As she was an excellent guard dog and quite fearless, Mr. Schmoger managed to place her in a home where she would be well cared for, but would not be used for breeding purposes. The money I had spent for her I had to put to my debit account. As Mr. Schmoger was clever enough not to may any further conditions, the matter of the Bavarian black breed seemed finished.
But the black colouring had interested not only myself. A breeder from the Allgau, Edmund Halter, had also mated a black bitch to Rolf von Vogelsberg. The result was a litter of extremely beautiful black animals, such as never before were seen. The best of all was the black male Flock von der Adeleck. Flock did very well in the ring, and I was tempted again. In Munich at Nymphenburg Castle, a special boxer show was to be held. From near and far Boxer Breeders were coming to this show. It was very difficult in those days to find accommodations and Mr. Halter, therefore, wrote to ask me whether I would look after his Flock for a few days. I agreed, after making a special consideration. Up to then only second-rate bitches from the black strain had been mated with the best dogs. How would he like it if I mated my topclass Rassel von Dom with his black Flock? Rassel was just in season and my old ambition came alive again. I would defy Mr. Schmoger, come what might.
I had promised to take Flock to the show and had to be at his best, so I cut his toenails and brushed him, but the result did not satisfy me. Mr. Schmoger was not altogether wrong. At the quarters the colour was not as intense as it could have been. What would I do? a tin of shoe polish found its way into my hand. At first as a joke, I began to brush Flock with the cream, but the more I did it the better I liked the result. Flock looked marvelous and literally shone, and I was sure that everybody would be astonished.
When I arrived at the show the next day, the first person I saw was the owner of Flock. He was speechless at the sight of his dog, and then he said it was a pity that his wife could not look after Flock in the way that I had done. I was in the best of Spirits.
It was springtime and my dress, the only good one I had, was of cream coloured real Russian silk, and how it suited me! I knew that the black dog would look twice as good with this as a contrast. He walked close to my side and I made sure that the Munich Boxer bigwigs could see him. In the ring, however, Flock had to be handled by his master. As he came to collect his dog for the class, he told me with horror that my dress was all black on the left side. My sins had found me out. The black shoe polish! I could do no more than hand the dog to the owner and ask Mr. Halter to lend me his coat so that I could drape it over my left arm. From then on I kept out of sight.
I do not know whether anybody noticed, but I doubt if they would have blamed me if they had. The colouring did not add to or detract from the dog’s chances, and in America would have been regarded as a type of make-up in the fashion of that country. But I did not feel too happy about it and it was the only time I ever did anything like that.
“ It looked as though the mating was going as planned. I wanted to have three puppies and no more. One of the brindles was already bespoken and I wanted a pair for myself, a black dog and a black bitch. One of these I wanted to be jet black and the other to have white markings. It took me a long time to make up my mind which one I would prefer to have the white markings, but in the end I decided that the male would look nice with some colour and the bitch, as I wanted to breed from her, should be dead black.

When the sixty third day arrived Rassel, and I had hoped, actually gave birth to a black brindle dog with white markings. Just as I had dreamed, only the all black bitch was missing. However the following day saw that wish come true too. As long as I have been breeding I have never predicted a litter like this again. Was this an omen? Surely fate had decreed that I should breed black boxers? Unfortunately time proved otherwise.

The two black ones I named Ulla and Utter. Ulla was a charming little lady with a beautifully modeled head. Utter became a striking looking powerful male. As I was unable to show these two I sent pictures of them and literature about them to the dog papers. I had no intention of parting with them, but when I got a high offer for Utter from the found of the black strain I agreed. It seemed to me that Mr. Schachtner had both the means and the talent to enable him to build up a black strain faster than I. Later I learned that he had lost a great deal because of his stubbornness and lack of consideration for the opinion of others.”